is my set up adiquite for horses?

gemini aquarius(t)

gemini aquarius(t)

Always Learning
hi i have been pondering the idea of having sea horses for a while but then i went into the idea of all zoas all sps mixd reef and now im back to horses so i was wondering if this set up would be ok for any horses

29 gallon
250 watt halide(was hoping to keep some coral)
maxi jet 600
seio 820
50 pounds of really really fine sand
about 35 pounds of live rock(no bristle worms noted as of yet)
im getting an eco systems 60 refugium for my tank but the only downside to this is no skimmer cause the fuge will barely fit on the tank or a smallish skimmer on the side?
i have a couple zoa frags like one or 2 polyps so nothing serious yet but hoping to be able to keep leathers,zoas,gorgonians(or something to branch on) and maybe some other soft and lps corals that have a low potancy level and can be used as a hitch please let me know if this will work and what i would need to do to be able to keep these guys
 
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Not that it's impossible... it might be really hard keeping the temp low enough for seahorses with that lighting. I see you're in SoCal, which is normally hot enough during the summer ;)

Other than that.... don't get any corals with sweeper tentacles and you should be ok. Corals don't particularly like seahorses hitching to them, so your corals and/or gorgonians may not fare too well.

But yes, it is possible to have seahorses and safe corals in the same tank if the setup is correct.

Tom
 
ok cool
i would probably have to top off daily:( cause i would have to use a fan or two to keep temps down but other than that would i need to take out a powerhead? which one? what corals do you guys keep with your horses? or should i make the tank have macro in it for extra pods also what about feeding? with a big fuge and macro n the tank could that be enough to sustain them? what if i jump started the population with a bottle of the live pods? let me know
 
I personally don't keep corals with my seahorses, I never have. Nor do I use a fuge. Others keep corals with their seahorses successfully and/or use a fuge , so I'll allow them to give you better answers than I could.

Tom
 
Also, keep in mind that seahorse colors come out better with lower light levels. And MH is unescesarry for the type of corals that you described. Most Gorgonians for one thing also like low level lighting.

And macros should be enough to get a good pod population going. How big is this refugium of yours? I had a small hang on one on the back of my 29 gallon tank, and it got my pod population going. Also, if you keep enough macros, you could possibly get away with no skimmer. I would get one though. Consider an Aqua C remora they have a very small foot print.
 
about the mh's the thing is is that i dont currently have a job(HARD TO GET ONE AT 14:)) so i think i woul have to keep my halide or buy a whole new light fixture what would be the minumum and the optimum for softies and macro's? and the fuge is 30.5x4.5x11"
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7919805#post7919805 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gemini aquarius(t)
about the mh's the thing is is that i dont currently have a job(HARD TO GET ONE AT 14:)) so i think i woul have to keep my halide or buy a whole new light fixture what would be the minumum and the optimum for softies and macro's? and the fuge is 30.5x4.5x11"
Click to expand...

LOL YAY IM NOT ALONE! im 15 and jobless as well. Anyways, about your lighting, you could get a cheap hood for your tank that would come with say a 15 or 20 watt t-8 fixture. That would be good for most leathers and softies, as well as gorgs. They only cost arround 35 bucks! I will be replacing my big t-5 strip light with one of those shortly
 
you should be fine without a skimmer, my seahorse tank has run for right at a year and a half with no skimmer and same horses good.

I have just put some mushrooms in. Going good so far.
 
CeaHorseMaShell: how big is your tank? specs? tips? thanks
whatnot45: i dont think 15-20 watts would be enough i think if i do do corals i would at least go with P.C.'s and then a couple T5's or as a last resort my halide but thats if i get some money:)
 
Well it wouldn't be enough for anything that likes light, but my softies dont need a lot of light, so they will be fine with the 20 watt flourescent bulb.

You could always go begging to mom for money or dad whichever is more lenient (maybee not, but it works for me). You dont need a super expensive light even if you do go T5 or P.C.'s I think that some where between 50 and 100 watts would be optiumum for what you are doing... Anything over that, and you might as well keep your MH
 
my tank is a 30 extra high, I will be posting new pics in my gallery sometime today if all goes well. Right now I have a regular flourescent bulb, but I'm putting a 2*65 PC on today. My water is deeper than a regular 29 gal, so it can take a bit more light. I have a ton of macro, and it does just fine with a flourescent, and the mushrooms seem to be very happy. Most seahorse-safe corals are low light anyway. I don't think I would run MH if I could help it. That much light is not natural for seahorses. Best of Luck
Michele
 
whatnot45: if i could i would probably keep my 29 gallon as a reef how i have it and just set p a tank for them seperate easier that way but my mom wont have that:( also i only live with my mom (dads a flake;)) and we arent "wealthy" either so she;s out of the picture so i want to start working at this fish store in my area that i volunteered at for 2 years then i moved and then moved bak so then i would have selection at the best prices on goods and livestock:)
also i want to get a hood of some sork for my tank cause they have tese t5's that are like 20 bux and there all seperate like 20 bux for 24 watts or whatever so i would get 2-4 of those or just some cheap pc's and no hood(mom would like that better)

CeaHorseMaShell: read from the ident lol :)

thanks more people are welcome to post:)
 
whatnot.... unfortunately you've been misinformed. While 'softies' aren't as demanding as other corals in terms of lighting....they certainly need more than .75 watts/gallon. You can get away with 3 watts/gallon for some leathers. You'd need at least a 110w PC light. Mushrooms and such aren't real picky with lighting, but softies such as leathers really are gonna need more than that 20 watt t-8 bulb.

Tom
 
It sounds like you need to decide what you are doing before you go out and buy new lighting. The 250 is way overkill in a 29 gallon seahorse tank. Fans will not bring the temp down to below 75 in the summer. Since seahorses do better at the lower end of the 70's it would be hard to keep it that low when we are having heat waves like we had in July.

I think you need to decide what you want to keep and then do everything to make a good environment for them. Both reef and seahorses keeping can be expensive so be sure you can afford the upkeep before you buy either of them.

Seahorses can not "live" on the pods from a fuge. The pods make a nice snack but you need frozen mysis as their staple diet. Be sure you get captive bred horses that are eating frozen before you buy them. Also resist the temptation of buying horses in a LFS and go with a captive bred horse from a reliable breeder.

Bruce
 
brucew: i have a while to"figure out what i want im doing" cause my mom wont let me do anything to my tank till i get strait A's in schooland it hasnt even started yet so theres time:D i wont do halides on my tank if i do horses and i would probably go with like 2x65 watt PC's so i can keep temps down easier, and thanks for the info on the mysis:)
 
Just keep doing as much research as you can and you will get there. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

Bruce
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7933041#post7933041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefNutPA
whatnot.... unfortunately you've been misinformed. While 'softies' aren't as demanding as other corals in terms of lighting....they certainly need more than .75 watts/gallon. You can get away with 3 watts/gallon for some leathers. You'd need at least a 110w PC light. Mushrooms and such aren't real picky with lighting, but softies such as leathers really are gonna need more than that 20 watt t-8 bulb.

Tom
Click to expand...


Well all I have are a few mushrooms, a toadstool leather (which has lived in less than 2 watts per gallon before) and a few zoo's.
 
I have/had 2 kinds of calurpa(in the display), cheatomorpha(in the fuge), and gracillera(hawian ogo) in bothe the fuge and display.
 
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